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Flashback: Shutdown Corners (1996)

The preview yesterday of the 2011 Brigham Young Cougars defensive backs pointed out that Corby Eason and Preston Hadley would be the starting cornerbacks. Both Eason and Hadley are junior college transfers. Eason has playing experience at BYU, but Hadley has none. This scenario sounds familiar.
In 1996, BYU returned second-team All-WAC cornerback Tim McTyer. He had made a splash his first year with the Cougars after playing two years at Los Angeles Southwest College. In 1995, McTyer accounted for 65 tackles and intercepted four passes; he even returned one for a touchdown.

BYU also welcomed another JC transfer 15 years ago. Omarr Morgan was one of many players BYU had mined from El Camino Junior College in California. Morgan was nicknamed “The Blanket.” He lived up to his name.

BYU had struggled in the early 1990s with pass defense. The years 1993 and 1994 were particularly bad. Just look at these stats.

Morgan and McTyer accounted for nearly half of the interceptions with 4 and 3 respectively. McTyer was credited with 17 passes defended, and Morgan had 9.5.

They both were named first team All-WAC Mountain Division. Each player was named WAC defensive player of the week once. Morgan was also named WAC special teams player of the week once after blocking a field goal against New Mexico to help preserve a 3 point lead, and a win.

As valuable as this duo had been game in, game out during the season, they both made big plays during the season’s biggest moment: the Cotton Bowl.

BYU had taken a 19-15 lead with less than four minutes to play. Kansas State would have one last chance to score. The Wildcats were able to drive into scoring position. Needing a touchdown, Kansas State threw a high pass to the back of the end zone. McTyer was in coverage. He couldn’t jump high enough to contest the catch, but he stood ready and pushed the Wildcat receiver out of the end zone before he could come down with the ball. Incomplete pass.

The clock ticked down to one minute. Kansas State’s quarterback called an audible. BYU defensive end Ed Kehl warned Morgan that a slant was coming. Morgan heeded that warning and positioned himself to deflect the pass before intercepting it at the 4-yard line, and securing the Cotton Bowl victory.

Tim McTyer and Omarr Morgan were two shutdown corners. Their pass coverage ability was a big reason why 1996 was a special year. This year, BYU is counting on Eason and Hadley to be shutdown corners to give the possibility that 2011could be another special year.

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BYU football has been pretty hard to watch in 2017, particularly on offense. After game two, a 27-0 loss to LSU, Head Coach Kalani Sitake said, "I know I am coming down hard on the offense, but, man, let's be honest, that was the issue." The offensive production hasn't gotten much better since, and Sitake hasn't changed his rhetoric.

Who would blame him? BYU is averaging 9.8 points per game, 4.3 yards per play (3.2 yards per rush and 5.2 yards per pass), and 221.75 total yards per game. The Cougar offense has converted just 34 percent of third downs, has averaged 23:47 time of possession, and has a 93.7 pass efficiency rating.

That has some fans speculating that one or more coaches will be fired before the end of the season. That is madness. No one on the BYU coaching staff will be unemployed before the game at Hawaii on November 25.

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It is no secret that offensive coordinator Ty Detmer is not trying to run the same scheme he used as a player at BYU to rewrite the NCAA record book. The offense he wants to run resembles what he learned during his 14 seasons in the NFL.

Lackluster results this year has this approach under scrutiny. After all, Tanner Mangum does not look like the same quarterback who passed for 3,377 yards, 23 touchdowns, and had a 136 pass efficiency rating in Robert Anae's offense as a freshman.

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